Remember Me
by horseaholic
Summary: Resubmission. Reformatted. This is the sequel to Breathe Me. It is the continuation of Spike and Adele's relationship. Events unfold that will change their lives, and possibly their relationship, forever. All the team is here, except Raf (who leaves when he does on the show.) Wordy and Rollie may appear, too.
1. Birthdays and Losses

_Hey, all. Welcome to the sequel of Breathe Me. I would recommend reading that one first. However, if you've stumbled upon this story by accident or something, I can assure you, you won't be too lost. I decided to delete this story originally and resubmit it, with some format reworked, so any reviews submitted from the first time will have to be resubmitted (if you want.)_

_For those of you who did read Breathe Me (and I am indebted to you who did; thanks for reading, reviewing, and the love), I made a few minor changes. I figure, if J.K. Rowling can decide she wishes she could have changed things after publishing thousands of copies of the Harry Potter books, in 67 languages, I can definitely do it in fanfiction. I won't make excuses why. None of the changes require re-reading on your part, I made sure of that (don't want to waste your time; but if you want to, have at it!)_

_The changes are very minor and as follows:_

_1. I added a bit of dialogue and action into chapter 2 of "Breathe Me." It won't affect the sequel at all, so you don't have to read it; I just thought you'd like to know. It's inspired by "Law and Order: SVU" episode "Swing."_

_2. The "protection detail/house arrest" in chapter 2 of "Breathe Me" has been expanded upon, but not changed. Thanks to TheCountessLotze for her help on that!_

_3. I included a mention of Dr. Luria in chapter 2, but didn't write it out. I just like her too much to leave her out entirely. I wish she had stayed on for the entire series!_

_4. I just recently realized I had totally left out the "Jules taking secret photos of Adele and Spike" bit from chapter 6. I plan on bringing it back into the sequel somehow._

_5. Adele is not a paralegal anymore. She is an animal control warden. The former profession rubbed me wrong after a while, so I changed it to something I like better._

_I think that covers it. Here is chapter 1. Enjoy!_

**Chapter 1: Birthdays and Losses**

* * *

Spike rolled over and gazed down at the sleeping young woman beside him. Her tousled brunette hair lay splayed across her pillow, her arms laid up by her face. He gazed at her face, his eyes resting for a moment on each small-but-deep scar that smattered her otherwise-pretty face. His eyes came to rest on the deepest scar, on her left cheek, caused by her head hitting the driver's-side window in whiplash.

Spike would never forget the day of the accident as long as he lived. His sweet, loving, kind Adele had been smashed into by a drunk driver, on her way from the bank to a team family dinner. The twins, Lewis and Kanya, had been with her. The driver had walked away with just bruises; Adele's injuries had been much more serious.

Fortunately, the twins hadn't been hurt, and after several weeks and extensive rehabilitation, Adele had made a full recovery.

Adele refused to do anything about her scars— she believed scars made people beautiful, that they expressed that people had stories to tell. Adele had never even been one to wear much makeup.

Lying there gazing down at her, Spike remembered the first time had had confessed to her that he loved her. He had just met her family, and afterward, she had broken down and admitted to him that she worried about him every day, about whether or not he would come back to her at the end of the day. That she was falling in love with him. Despite her worries, he had told her there was nowhere else he'd rather be. On the team and by her side. That he was falling in love with her too.

She had responded by loving him in return and being there for him when he needed her support the most: the following week, Lou had been killed in a landmine explosion. Spike had shut down and shut Adele out for a long time, but she hadn't given up on him; in the end, that was what had saved their relationship. Their relationship had blossomed and he had proposed to her on Christmas Eve, 2009. She had said yes, and they had been married on June 19, 2010. Kanya and Lewis— named after the late Lewis Young— had been born the following March.

Now it was March 11, 2012, the twins' first birthday.

Spike gently caressed her face and she stirred. She smiled as she opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Good morning," Spike said, smiling down at her. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, once I took my headache meds," said Adele.

Despite that her cracked skull had healed completely normally, occasionally Adele endured debilitating headaches that sometimes left her laid up for hours, even a day or two, at a time. But the medication she took daily, along with weekly chiropractic adjustments, usually kept the headaches at bay. Usually, but not always.

"Good," Spike said, kissing her cheek, then kissing her nose, before meeting her lips with his.

Adele giggled. "I love the way you make me feel."

"I love making you feel good," Spike said, nuzzling her face. "If you are good, then I am good."

Adele smiled. "As good as I am, I am also hungry," she pointed out.

As if on cue, they heard cries coming from the bedroom next door.

"Sounds like we're not the only hungry ones," Spike said, smiling. "How about you bring the twins downstairs and I'll start making breakfast? You know what today is."

"I sure do. I like that idea," said Adele, smiling and kissing him again, before they both got out of bed.

They left the bedroom hand-in-hand and entered the twins' room next door. Spike took Kanya out of her crib and Adele picked up Lewis, and the babies stopped crying.

"Good morning," Spike said to the infant girl. He kissed her chubby cheek. "Happy Birthday. How's my little girl this morning?"

Happy to be in her father's arms, Kanya smiled and giggled.

"Did my little man sleep well last night?" Adele asked Lewis, who crooned and touched her face with his pudgy hand. "Happy Birthday, baby boy."

Spike kissed the top of her head before they headed downstairs to make breakfast. Adele smiled reminiscently. There were moments every day where her life seemed still surreal to her; here she was, married to the love of her life, who had given her two beautiful children, living in a wonderful home, with a job she enjoyed. Her life had changed much in the past three years.

Spike preheated the oven and started frying sausages for pigs-in-a-blanket in one pan, while scrambling eggs in another pan. In between feeding the twins baby food, Adele cut up fresh fruit.

"You spoil us so much," said Adele, as she set out cut strawberry pieces for the twins.

"I'm Italian," said Spike, smiling back at her. "Food is the answer to everything."

With the twins well within reach, they finished making breakfast and sat down to eat. Adele made Spike coffee and herself non-caffeinated lemon tea.

"You know," Spike said, as he alternated between giving Lewis and Kanya strawberries, "maybe that tea is the reason you talk in your sleep."

Adele looked surprised. "I do not!" she said, laughing.

"You so do," Spike teased her, grinning at her. "But it's okay. Sometimes I stay up and watch you, trying to interpret the conversations I know I'll never understand, trying to figure out what you're dreaming about."

Adele smiled, blushed, and turned her attention back to feeding Lewis.

A moment later, she looked back up at Spike, and saw him staring at her.

"What?" she asked softly, looking around. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because you're beautiful," Spike said, smiling dreamily at her.

"People always get used to beauty, though," said Adele.

"I'm not used to you yet," Spike said, leaning in to kiss her.

* * *

After breakfast, they coaxed the twins into spring jackets and took a walk to the nearby park to play. Spike and Adele held hands as they pushed the twins in baby swings and played in the sandbox.

Upon arriving home, Adele froze as she entered their house to find it covered in decorations, balloons, and a piñata, and gifts sitting in the living room.

"What the...?"

"Surprise!"

Spike and Adele turned with the twins in their arms, to see the team standing around the kitchen table, upon which two cakes sat, ready to be devoured.

"You guys!" Adele said, smiling and blushing. "When did you do all this?"

"I work fast," said Jules, smirking. Adele smiled.

Adele and Spike set the twins down on the floor and they ambled over to Jules and Ed's open arms. They all sat down at the table and enjoyed watching the twins smash their cake before eating it.

Jules and Sam got the twins push carts, a green one for Kanya and a blue one for Lewis. Ed and Sophie and Wordy and Shelley got the twins some cute themed spoons, forks, sippy cups, plates, and other feeding supplies. From their parents, the twins received more children's books; Adele was an avid reader and read to them every chance she got. And from Greg, the twins got shape sorters and foam blocks.

All too soon, however, it was bedtime for the twins. Hugs went around and Adele and Spike thanked everyone for coming, then they left. Spike and Adele took the twins to their room and laid them down to sleep, before going to their bedroom and winding down for bed themselves.

* * *

March 20, 2012, turned out to be one of the hardest hot calls they would ever have to make. In a complicated case, circumstances turned from protecting a frightened daughter and mother from the estranged father/husband, to the daughter turning into the shooter. Mae Dalton threatened her father with a gun, shooting at him three times, before Ed was finally forced to take the Sierra shot that ended her life.

The case would haunt Ed Lane for the rest of his life.

Every time he shot at a golf ball, he saw the back of Mae Dalton's head, as she fell to the ground.

Every time he looked through the crosshairs, he saw Petar Tomasic running into the line of fire.

He saw Goran Tomasic on the pavement, blood seeping from his shattered skull, the life snatched from his body, following the Sierra shot that had barely missed hitting his son.

However, these tough cases had their effect on the rest of the team, too. It took its toll on them all. In Mae Dalton's case, especially Spike.

Adele was writing in her journal when Spike walked slowly through the front door.

"Oh, hey, babe," she greeted him, standing up from her desk and going over to kiss him hello. She could feel how tense he was when she met his lips with hers. She leaned back slightly and looked up into his eyes. "What is it? What happened?"

"Ed killed a girl today," said Spike. "And she was young." His voice began to break. "She was much too young..."

Adele's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh no. That's awful. I'm so sorry."

They set the twins in the playpen, then sat Spike down on the couch to talk with her.

"What happened, Spike?"

"Two estranged parents couldn't get their act together and their daughter died because of it," Spike said vehemently.

Spike filled her in on the day's events.

"But I don't understand," said Adele, confused, "how does that directly involve you? You didn't do anything wrong. Why are you so upset?"

"She was right beside me in the truck, Adele," Spike said, rising angrily from the couch. "How could I not have seen the gun she had?"

"No. Spike, no," Adele said firmly, shaking her head as she looked up at him. "You did nothing wrong. She didn't deserve to die, but once she pulled out that gun, the protocol, everything, changed. She was an active shooter and you have rules to protect the victim. You know that."

"We lost Raf because of today," said Spike, his voice softer.

"He resigned?"

"Yeah," said Spike, coming back over to sit next to her. "Said he didn't want to be on the team anymore. That it wasn't what he had expected it to be."

"I'm sorry," said Adele. "That's unfortunate, but it's his choice. It's not for everyone."

Spike looked at her sadly. "I can't lose any of the others, Adele. With him, it's different. He's only been with us for a year. I can't lose Ed... or Sarge... or Jules... or..."

"Spike, I'm not going to say that's not going to happen," Adele said, lifting his chin so he looked her in the eyes, "because it is in the nature of the job that sometimes it does. But all you can do is hope that it doesn't; and in the meantime, try to keep that life as separate from this one as you can." He laid down and she held his fatigued body in her arms. "You still have me. You still have Lewis and Kanya. We're here. We're not going anywhere. And we're not gonna let you go anywhere, okay?"

Spike nodded, listening to her heart beating in her chest. "Okay. I love you."

Adele kissed his forehead and ruffled his hair. "I love you, too."

* * *

_So it begins..._


	2. Family Time

_Hey, all. Posting this earlier than I was going to. I got fired yesterday, so until I find a new job, I don't have much to do to keep myself occupied... Pretty upset about it, because I really liked what I did and I thought I was doing well, but... anyway, moving on... Here's chapter 2. Enjoy._

**Chapter 2: Family Time**

* * *

With the turning of the fall colors, summer melted away into autumn. Adele continued working at City Hall as an animal control warden and the team responded to a record number of hot calls.

A week before Halloween, the hot call came for the team to respond to a desperate father's cry for help. His young son, Curtis, had been shot by criminals and the father's best friend, a doctor, was doing everything he could to save the little boy. The doctor had enlisted Sam's help to treat Curtis's condition, and the father had ended up taking Sam hostage, alive. They had driven to a vet clinic to complete the treatment. In the end, with the father knowing he was going to go to prison, the best friend had promised to take Curtis in as his own son and be his legal guardian until the father got out of prison.

"Fathers will do anything to protect their children," Spike said, as he finished telling Adele about the day.

"A happy ending," said Adele, smiling.

"Well, sort of," said Spike. "The dad still went to prison."

"But he won't always be," said Adele. "Eventually he'll be back in his son's life and hopefully he'll stay there."

Spike smiled and held his beautiful wife and children close.

* * *

The moment Spike saw Stuart straddle that ledge, time seemed to slow down and distort. In his memory, he was transported back to that day Team One responded to the hot call of Adele standing on the other side of the bridge. He could see Jules talking to Adele, using her powers of persuasion to convince Adele to come back to the other side.

And she had. Adele had made the right choice that day. She went on a different medication that, fortunately, worked, and she got back into therapy and a support group for depression.

With Spike's help, Stuart had also chosen to come down. He accepted the consequences for his actions and also met Rebecca for the first time. He was surprised how much Rebecca already knew about him, including his stroke. Spike watched them talk from a distance, glad for the good outcome of that day's hot call.

It also made him realize how close he had come to not having Adele in his life. On their way back to SRU for debrief, Spike thought about Adele. Did she still feel the way she did that day on the bridge? Would she ever consider attempting suicide again?

After debriefing, Spike walked up to Greg. "Boss? Got a second?"

"Of course, Spike, what's up?" Greg asked. They waved goodbye to the rest of the team, then each sat down in a chair to talk.

"With Stuart today, I was thinking..." Spike began hesitantly. "Remember Adele, that day on the bridge?"

Greg nodded. "I do."

"Well... I need some advice."

"Okay."

"Seeing Stuart on the bridge today, it made me wonder... if Adele still feels the same way she did that day," said Spike. "I wonder if she could consider it again."

"Well, Spike, you can probably guess what I'm going to tell you."

"That you're not the person to ask."

"Right. If you're wondering these things, you need to talk to Adele," said Greg. "I'm sure she won't mind."

"I don't want to upset her," said Spike, looking away.

"It may, but not for long," said Greg. "She loves you. Honesty and communication are the keys to any stable, long-lasting relationship."

Spike looked long and hard at Greg. Coming from the Boss, those words held heavy meaning. Spike, at a loss for words, swallowed and nodded.

"Let me know how it goes, okay?" Greg asked.

"Alright," said Spike. "Thanks, Boss."

"Anytime," Greg said, clapping Spike on the shoulder and they walked out of SRU together.

* * *

A little while later, Spike walked up to their house to see Lewis walking toward the front door. Spike slowly opened the door, so Lewis couldn't escape, then picked up his son.

"Hi there, baby boy, how are you?" he asked Lewis, kissing the baby's chubby cheek.

Adele rushed into the room, Kanya, wrapped in a towel, on her hip. "Lewis, come—" she began, before seeing Spike. "Oh. Hey, babe."

"Hey," Spike said. "Need some help?"

"Yeah," Adele said wearily. "I was giving Kanya a lavender bath because she is fussy tonight, and Lewis escaped his crib."

"Well, he knew his daddy was coming home to see him. He couldn't wait," Spike said, grinning.

Adele smiled. "Welcome home," she said, kissing him. "How was work?" When Spike didn't answer right away, she began to get concerned. "Spike?"

"Today was my kind of call," Spike said. They went into the bathroom, finished drying Kanya off, and got her pajamas on. They went upstairs and laid the twins down for the night, then laid down on their own bed next door, leaving the door open in case Kanya started fussing again.

"There was a subject named Stuart, who hacked into his tutee's computer via Skype. Her name was Rebecca. She was involved in some illegal activity and Stuart ended up being the leak. He tracked them and sent information to the SRU. That's how we were able to take them down."

Adele nodded, waiting for Spike to go on.

"What she was involved with was illegal, but that didn't make his actions right, either. I used his own malware against him to watch him and find him. He thought he had ruined her life, with what he did. Next thing I know, he's out on his balcony, on the railing. I'm not even the typical negotiator. I'm usually eyes in the truck. I had to remind him what was good about him, good about friendship. It reminded me of Jules talking to you, that day on the bridge."

Spike noticed, upon hearing this, Adele wouldn't quite meet his gaze.

"Adele," Spike said, "can I ask you something?"

Adele looked up at him, then nodded slowly.

"Do you ever think about doing that again? Please be honest with me."

Adele shook her head. "No, Spike. That was my rock bottom, the lowest point in my life. Things could only go up from there. I'm not going anywhere, okay?"

"And I'm not gonna let you go anywhere," Spike promised, kissing her hair.

Adele smiled and snuggled up next to him, uniform and all.

"But if you do start to feel that way again," Spike said, resting his chin on her crown, "promise me you'll tell me, okay?"

"I promise."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Mmm, you are such an amazing guy."

"It's mostly gear... trust me."

Adele smiled and got lost in the sensation of his voice purring from within his strong chest.

* * *

The following evening, Adele was making spaghetti for supper, while Spike played with the twins in the living room. She finished making the red sauce and placed a colander in the sink. Then she lifted the pot of cooked noodles over to the sink and poured it in to strain. The steam billowed up around her arms and face, and suddenly, the hot water hit her hands.

"Ouch!" she yelled, dropping the pot. It hit the sink edge, then fell to the floor with a loud _clang_. Water sluiced over the floor and most of the noodles slipped into the garbage disposal, but she didn't notice, clutching her stinging hands.

Spike came into the room, a twin on each hip.

"Adele, everything OK?" he asked, setting the twins in their high chairs, then quickly going over to her.

"No," Adele said, tears sparkling in her eyes. "I just ruined dinner."

Spike took her shaking hands gently in his and ran cold water over them, then wrapped them in cold washcloths. Adele flinched, then sighed with relief as the cold wetness lessened the stinging pain.

"Hardly ruined," he observed. "The sauce is simmering. It's just noodles. They don't take long."

Adele nodded. Spike wiped away a stray tear.

"Hey... That's why you never cook without an assistant." He kissed her cheek and the top of her head, then got paper towels and mopped up the water. "Go be with the twins. I'll finish up."

"OK," said Adele, ignoring her smarting hands. "Thank God I married an Italian man who loves to cook."

Spike smiled. "I love you," he said, "even if you suck at cooking."

Adele laughed. "Oh! You are _so _gonna get it later, Scarlatti!" she teased.

"I look forward to it," Spike teased.

"I love you, too," said Adele, before going into the next room.


	3. Explosion

**Chapter 3: Explosion**

* * *

Spike stood back, watching in shock, as Sam defied the order to stand down given by Greg. The subject not only had a grenade in his hand, but C4 strapped to his chest. If the grenade dropped, the C4 would blow, taking out the entire bridge, and the team with it.

"He's within 20 feet; even with body armor, he's way too close."

Spike was starting to get frustrated with Sam. Greg had given him a direct order to fall back and he was blatantly ignoring it. Sometimes Sam had too big of a head on his shoulders, that had nothing to do with ego. He was simply too stubborn and too willing to give people, especially soldiers or ex-soldiers, too many chances sometimes. He had a heart three sizes too big.

Spike knew that Sam would never forget the day Lou died; none of them who were there that day would. Losing a team member so violently was never something you just got over and went on from.

But he was still too close.

In the several moments that he was forced to watch Sam negotiate with the man, Spike flashed back to the day Lou had died. The day his brother-in-arms, his best friend, had sacrificed his own life to save so many others; not just the team.

After some negotiation, Sergeant Robert Gray had surrendered, handing the unpinned grenade to Sam. Despite the gesture, it wasn't Sergeant Gray Spike was mad at; it was Sam. Sam knew when to back down and when to stop talking. But he hadn't listened to Greg. He had put himself in a dangerous position, risking his life, and for what? To prove to the subject, man-to-man, that he, too, was a soldier and knew the feeling of guilt, of regret, of "what-if"?

* * *

Adele could see something was wrong, the moment Spike walked through the door. Sometimes he came home upset, sometimes he came home satisfied, sometimes he came home happy. He rarely came home _angry_.

To her alarm, he slammed the door, then kicked off his boots.

"Spike," Adele said, alarmed. She glanced behind herself briefly, listening for sounds from the twins upstairs in their nursery, listening to see if the noise had awoken them. But it was quiet. "What happened?"

Spike sank onto the couch. "It's Sam."

"Is he alright? Did something happen?" Adele asked.

"He's fine," Spike said irritably. "I'm just pissed at him."

"Why? What did he do?"

"He disobeyed a direct order to fall back."

Adele's eyes widened. She knew Sam was an ex-soldier, so for him to disobey a direct order was huge. Her mother had been an Army brat, so she knew you didn't disobey a direct order, ever.

"What did he do?" Adele repeated.

"The subject had a grenade with no pin in it in his hand," said Spike, "and C4 strapped to his chest. If that grenade had dropped, the C4 would have blown, taking the entire bridge, and all of us, down with it."

Adele, rendered speechless, simply shook her head.

"But you're all alright, right?" Adele asked. "And he will receive some sort of consequences for his actions?"

"Ed and Greg both talked to him and warned him that, if it ever happened again, he would get a permanent mark on his record. That got through that thick skull of his," Spike snapped.

Adele nodded. "But that's not what this comes down to, is it?"

Spike met her gaze, then, to her alarm, tears welled up his eyes and rolled down his face.

"Spike..." Adele whispered, alarmed. "Talk to me, babe."

"No," Spike choked through his tears. "I'm mad at Lew, Adele. Because he put his life on the line and lost his life to save others."

Adele nodded and waited patiently for Spike to say more.

"Sam told the sergeant to forgive himself for what happened to his wife, that it wasn't his fault she died. To forgive himself, not for the soldiers, not for his friends, but for him," said Spike.

Adele gently grasped his shoulders. "So _forgive yourself_, Spike, about Lew," she whispered. "Forgiving yourself doesn't mean you're going on and just forgetting about him. It means you're letting things turn out okay."

At these words, Spike let Adele cradle him, as he sobbed heartily. After a few minutes, his sobs quieted. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter.

"This just in," he said quietly, after taking a deep breath, "latest news from Italy."

Adele grinned. "Your mother is single-handedly keeping the post office in business."

"This time she waits till the third line before asking when I'm coming to visit," said Spike.

"Huh," Adele said, smiling.

Spike grinned coyly. "You wanna be my wingman?"

Adele smiled. "What's in it for me?" she teased him.

"All the homemade wine you can drink," Spike said.

"I'm listening," Adele said, eyeing him curiously.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," Adele said, grinning enticingly.

* * *

Spike rolled over groggily when his alarm went off at 7am on June 8, 2012. Sam and Jules' wedding day had arrived. They were to tie the knot at 10am.

Spike kissed Adele's forehead, and she stirred.

"Mm, hey, good morning," she murmured sleepily.

"Good morning, bella," said Spike, smiling. "I love waking up to the sight of you every morning."

Adele smiled. "Me too. Can I ask why they picked today?"

"It's the only day Sam's dad could be here," Spike said, stroking her face. "I'm sorry you can't be there."

Adele shrugged. "Me too, but duty calls."

"As does mine, but at least I get to be in on all the fun stuff first," Spike teased her.

"Shut up. I hate that I'm missing it all," Adele whined. She laughed and hit him with a pillow. They got up and she watched him get dressed. She smiled as she laced up his bow-tie for him.

"You know, reception's at the Party Boat tonight," said Spike, looking down at her. "We could bring the twins, then you wouldn't have to miss _all_ of it."

He leaned down and kissed her goodbye. "Take lots of pictures," said Adele. "I'll stop by and check them out on my coffee break."

"You got it," said Spike, smiling as he headed downstairs and out the door.

* * *

Adele breathed a sigh of relief as the clock turned to 11:30 a.m. and her lunch break arrived. She decided to stop by the barn and see Spike and check out the wedding photos he had promised to take.

After getting cleared through security, Adele made her way over to the barn. Winnie sat at the desk, answering incoming calls.

"Hey, Adele," Winnie said, smiling. "You have good timing. No hot calls yet. Team One's just hanging out."

Adele smiled. "How are you, Winnie?" she asked.

"I'm great," said Winnie. "Living the dream."

"Me too," said Adele, smiling. "I have a great husband, great kids, and I get to be with animals all day— even if they may not like me all the time."

"Which one?" Spike teased her, coming up and hugging her in greeting. Adele and Winnie laughed. "Hey, how are the animals today?"

"Well, I almost brought a case home with me," said Adele.

"Meaning she wants to take the animal home with her. Which, I might add, is a daily occurrence," Spike translated to the team, as hugs went around.

"His shelter name is Phil, he's five years old, purebred Chihuahua. His owner kept him locked up in a garage before finally surrendering him to us today," said Adele. "I don't understand how someone could just lock up such a sweet animal. He's shy, but sweet. I can't keep my hands off him."

Spike smiled. "Do I take it we are getting a dog?" he asked.

"Maybe," said Adele, smiling. "We'll see."

Winnie could tell Adele wanted a few minutes alone with Spike, so she excused herself to go get some more coffee.

"Spike, mind covering for me for a minute? Need a refill," said Winnie, holding up her coffee mug.

"Sure thing, Winnie," said Spike, as he sat down in the rolling chair at the desk. Adele pulled up another chair, as he pulled out his phone.

"Aw!" Adele gushed, looking at the photos. "Man, getting married, then going to work; that is... dedication. I wish I could have been there."

"Me too."

"Spike, you were there," Adele said, grinning.

"No, I mean I wish you could have been there, too, too," said Spike.

"Too, too?" Adele asked.

"Too, too, as in, too, also," Spike corrected himself, grinning.

"Gotcha," said Adele, grinning.

"Do you want to grab a bite with me?" Spike asked, as they concluded looking at the photos and Winnie returned with her coffee.

"No, sorry, babe, I can't," said Adele, giving Winnie back her chair. "I only have ten minutes to get back to work. I really just stopped by to say hi and see how it went. I gotta go check out a property. But I'll see you after shift, okay?"

Spike nodded.

"SRU. Hey, Nina, what's going on?" Winnie listened as someone spoke on the line. Then she turned to Team One. "911's got a problem." Adele paused, listening, as the rest of the team walked over to the desk. "Nina, I've got Team One here."

"It's some kind of device in a box, in our server room. It's got exposed wires and a blinking light," said Nina.

"Was it left in plain sight?" Ed asked.

"No. No, it was concealed in one of our server cabinets. We only found it when we went to do a reboot."

"Get any non-essential staff out of there," said Greg. "We're on our way."

Spike and Adele stood up together.

"Winnie, call Stainton, get him to see if there's a spike in terrorist chatter," said Ed.

"You got it," said Winnie.

Adele looked over at Spike. "Spike? Just... you know."

"I'm always careful," Spike assured her, before going to the gun cage.

* * *

The city had been receiving complaints for a few weeks about terrible smells coming from this property; it was making the neighbors sick. They had mentioned the smells of manure, animals, ammonia, and moldy, wet hay. Under probable cause of animal abuse, Adele had obtained a warrant to search the property and see what was going on. Maybe rescue some animals from potential harm and poor living conditions.

Halfway to the property, Adele realized she had forgotten her wallet on her desk.

"Dammit," she muttered, turning the car around.

Without it, even presenting the warrant, she couldn't show I.D. and proof of who she was, and that she had the right to search the premises. She shook her head; the threat of these bombs was really getting to her. Not that she could really help it; every day, her husband went out into the field, not knowing if he would live to see the sunset. Adele thought it was curious how it bothered her more than it bothered Spike.

Spike, meanwhile, had diffused the bomb at the hidden 911 call center and was posted there, helping Greg track down who the bomber was, while the rest of the team were helping the EMTs with the wounded, searching for survivors, and profiling.

As Adele parked in her slot at City Hall at 11:55a.m., she turned up the radio, overhearing news about a bomb exploding at the Health and Welfare Center. She listened to the report, then pulled out her cell phone from her purse and dialed Spike. It went straight to voicemail.

"Hey, you've reached me. Leave a message..."

She shook her head; she knew better. Of course it went straight to voicemail. The city was under threat of live bombs. He was in the field, doing his job. All she could do was get back to her job, focus on her work, and hope to hear back from him eventually.

She looked from her phone to her purse several times, before finally deciding to call SRU Headquarters.

Winnie answered. "SRU."

"Hey, Winnie, it's Adele. What's going on? The radio's talking about live bombs and Spike's not answering his phone," Adele said. Her clock read 12:01p.m. She knew she was late coming back from lunch to get to the property, but with what the radio was reporting, she was worried about Spike. Being a few minutes late would be worth being reassured by Winnie.

"He's alright, he's in the field," said Winnie. "Did you make it back to work?"

"Yeah, I just got here. Forgot my wallet," said Adele. She got out of her car and opened the door to take the stairs up to the main floor. "Could you please have him call me as soon as he can?"

"Will do."

"Thanks, Winnie," said Adele, before hanging up.

Just as she hung up, the earth shook as an explosion rocked the parking garage, burying Adele's car in concrete. Adele was thrown up the stairwell and landed hard, on her side, on the stairs. Groaning in pain, Adele began to get up, when a beam broke off the ceiling and fell, hitting her in the shoulder and knocking her to the ground. Her head made contact with the stairs, and everything went black.


	4. Terror

**Chapter 4: Terror**

* * *

The situation had just been updated to a Category One emergency. Fire and EMS crews from Durham were on their way. Toronto was reaching out to additional nearby cities; Halton, Peer, and York. All hands were on deck. Units from CFB Borden were controlling the streets and had set up a mass casualty triage center at Fletcher Stadium.

Ed had not heard from Clark in several hours; he had been shopping downtown for prom with Mira and Dean, broken off from them to go get a permit for an outdoor party, and then disappeared.

As much as Spike wanted to call and check on Adele, he knew he couldn't. Lines were overloaded or down and he had to keep doing everything he could to track down the bomber. He hoped she would call him as soon as possible.

"Winnie, you haven't heard from Adele, have you?" Spike asked her.

"Spike, she was just leaving work when she called me," said Winnie "I'm sure she's fine."

"Okay, let me know if you hear from her again," said Spike.

"Will do."

"Okay. Thanks."

As Jules made her way through the hole in the debris to the daycare, back at the 911 call center, Spike breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Adele was at the property and nowhere near City Hall, where a second bomb had gone off. Overloaded lines had shut down an entire downtown cell phone zone. The mayor had been caught in the City Hall blast and was being treated, so Sergeant Parker was elected as the decision-maker to talk to the city.

* * *

Meanwhile, firefighters, uniformed officers, and EMTs were working as quickly as they could to clear City Hall of both survivors and victims. A firefighter and an EMT entered the stairwell and when they came upon Adele and the fallen beam.

"Hugh, gimme a hand here!" the firefighter called out to the officer. The officer hurried over and helped the firefighter lift the broken beam off Adele's back.

"Check her pulse. I'm bringing in the long spine board," said the EMT, before he rushed back outside.

"Pulse is fast. Okay, David, hold her neck steady and let's turn her over," said Hugh. "One, two, and—" Very carefully, they turned Adele over and began to assess her injuries. "Ma'am? Ma'am, can you hear me?" Adele was unresponsive. "She's got a head injury, looks like a broken arm and wrist. Superficial burns and abrasions."

"Priority red," said David, as Adam reentered the building, carrying the board. "Let's get an I.V. started."

The three men worked quickly to stabilize Adele's head and neck in a brace and secured her body to the board. They started an I.V. of fluids, loaded her quickly into the ambulance, and headed to the hospital.

* * *

Things were quickly going from bad to worse. At the university, a dirty bomb strapped to Anson Holt's chest had detonated, killing him, Donna Sabine, and her partner, Jimmy, instantly. Greg, who had been on the scene, was unhurt, but had been exposed to radiation. He had been forced to sign off his contaminated headset and get cleaned up, rendering the team leaderless.

Ed had found Clark at City Hall and Clark was now being treated for his injuries at a hospital. Team Two successfully defused the next bomb at Hudson Trust Head Office.

But there were five bombs remaining.

* * *

Minus Greg and Jules, Team One headed to Marcus Faber's residence to find out where the remaining bombs were. They had quickly found them and Greg had signed back on. However, he had to wait until his blood work came back before he could rejoin the team. Since he had to sit tight, he and Jules worked together on more profiling. Jules was at Tony James' residence, asking him questions about Anson Holt and the experiments.

The team now had to split up to diffuse the bombs individually, paired with one firefighter and EMT each, to clear the buildings, at the EMS building, Adelaide Systems, the TV station, and the police station. Despite this, they were not alone. They were in each others' ears and they had each other covered.

At their individual locations, the bombs had all the same schematics. The bomber had picked up the pace. All the bombs were negative for radiation. Sam's bomb had the shortest amount of time left on the timer.

Greg's blood test had come back clean. In the end, Sam hadn't obeyed Spike's order to get out right away, and he was blown off his feet. It was a long ninety seconds before the team realized he was only bruised.

Spike felt a renewed hope that they were going to disarm the rest of the bombs successfully. And they did.

However, they were still missing one bomb.

Greg realized it was likely right there in the stadium.

* * *

Later, Team One waited impatiently in the emergency waiting room, for an update on Greg's condition. Marcus had shot at him numerous times on the catwalk, hitting him once in the leg and twice in the vest. But before Marcus could fire the fatal shot between Greg's eyes, Ed had neutralized Faber.

As soon as they left the triage scene, Spike pulled out his phone to call Adele and check up on her. Her phone went straight to voicemail. He thought this was unusual, as she always answered her phone, one way or another, or called him, but he decided to give it a little more time. Maybe she was somewhere she couldn't hear her phone or answer it or call him.

After what seemed like forever, a doctor came out to talk to the team, regarding Greg's condition. His injuries were serious, but he was going to make it.

The team let out simultaneous sighs of relief at the news. Spike pulled out his phone to try calling Adele again. Again, the call went straight to her voicemail.

Steve, Jules' paramedic ex-boyfriend, had just come in with another patient, when he noticed the team sitting in the waiting room. He entered the waiting room and approached them.

"Hey, guys, are you all here for Adele?"

Spike's head snapped up. "What? What are you talking about, Steve? She's missing! She's... Wait, did you just say she's here? Oh my God..." He ran his fingers through his hair and buried his face in his hands in horror.

"Calm down, Spike. She's upstairs, ICU," said Steve. "Come on, I'll take you."

"Wait, we can't all go," said Ed calmly to the others. "Let's just have Spike and Jules go for now. Everyone else, go home, get cleaned up, get some sleep. Spike or Jules will call as soon as they know more."

"Jules, are you sure?" Steve asked. "You should really stay off your leg."

"It's just upstairs, I'll be fine," Jules said firmly. She placed her arm around Spike's back, giving him the supportive touch he needed. "Come on, Spike."

Spike nodded slowly and went with Jules and Steve upstairs.

* * *

Spike gazed down at his wife, once again a victim to serious injuries. She was hooked up to countless machines and monitors, including a ventilator, providing her with essential oxygen, medications, and nutrients, and monitoring her heart rate, blood pressure, pulse oxygenation, and other vitals.

Within Spike, what began at first as shock and stunned silence quickly morphed into anger and resentment.

He turned and gave Steve a nasty glare, which melted into one of despair. His voice shook when he spoke.

"Why didn't you _call_ me?"

"Spike—" Jules began.

"She's been unconscious the whole time," said Steve. "She had no I.D. There was no way anyone knew who she was until I saw her."

"It wasn't your fault, Steve," Jules said quietly. "You did everything you could."

Spike shook his head slowly back and forth, not looking anywhere but at Adele. He let out a shaky sigh of exhaustion and anguish.

"What exactly happened?" Spike asked Steve.

"My buddy who found her said she was on the north stairwell, in the parking garage, when the bomb went off," said Steve. "She was thrown onto the stairs and when she landed, a beam broke off and came down on her."

Spike buried his face in his hands. "Oh my God..."

"I'm gonna go get a doctor, Spike, okay?" Steve asked him.

Face still buried in his hands, Spike nodded and Steve left the room.

"I just can't believe this happened, again," Spike said softly. "All that time I was out there and I never once checked on her. Made sure she was okay. I thought... I thought she was off-site of City Hall. Winnie said she was leaving work when she called SRU."

"Spike, this isn't your fault," Jules said firmly, grasping his shoulders. "You couldn't have prevented this. You had to do your job. Look how much you _did _prevent, how much destruction never happened, how many lives you— we— saved, because of what all we did, because of what everyone came together and did today."

Spike gently stroked the cast on Adele's left arm and wrist, which had broken in her fall. He couldn't find words to say about how he currently felt.

A few minutes later, Steve reentered the room, followed by a doctor.

"I'm Doctor Craven, primary physician on Mrs. Scarlatti's case," said the doctor. "I trust you are family?"

"Yes," Jules broke in, before Spike could speak. "This is her husband, Spike, and I'm her sister-in-law, Jules."

Spike allowed himself the smallest of smiles at Jules' quick thinking; then he refocused his attention on the doctor.

"I'm Todd," said Craven.

"Tell me everything, don't leave anything out," Spike said quickly.

"Her blood test came back clean of radiation," said Craven. "Unfortunately, her troubles don't end there. She has a broken arm, a broken wrist, three broken ribs, and head trauma. There are three additional critical patients ahead of her. She will get a CT, MRI, and EEG as soon as possible. She was lucky she landed sideways on the stairs, like she did, or the beam might have broken her back and possibly paralyzed her."

Spike nodded, slowly absorbing it all.

"We'll get her down for those tests as soon as possible, so for now, all we can do is wait," said Craven. "I need to attend to other patients for now. May I suggest you go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat and drink? I'll have an orderly bring a roll-away cot for you. It's going to be a long night."

"Thank you, Todd," said Jules, as Spike was speechless with shock. A moment later, Craven left the room. "You want me to call her folks?"

Spike swallowed hard and nodded. Jules took his cell phone from him, placed a consoling hand on his shoulder, then stepped out of the room.

* * *

Three hours later, the tests were completed. Once again, they sat in silence, listening to the doctor's report.

"She suffered a concussion, and there's edema and localized swelling on her temporal lobe," said Craven. "We won't know if there's any cognitive impairment until she's out of the coma. I want to hold the sedation for now, so we can see what else is going on. I asked to be paged when she wakes."

"What if she's in pain? Shouldn't we give her painkillers, just in case?" Spike asked.

"An opiate would only deepen her coma, Spike," said Craven. "I want her to wake up. Though perhaps she's hurting, she doesn't seem to be in extreme pain."

Spike shook his head in disagreement with the doctor, as much as he understood what Craven's intentions were. As the doctor left the room, Jules looked outside, hearing thunder rumbling.

"It's raining." They both looked out the rain-smeared window. "Spike?"

"Yeah, Jules?"

"It looks like she's dreaming."

Adele's eyes were moving rapidly under her eyelids.

Spike sighed. "If it isn't a nightmare," he said quietly.

"Come on," Jules said, "let's go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat. It's going to be a long night."

* * *

Hours later, Adele still hadn't woken. Doctor Craven was puzzled.

"I ordered another CAT scan, to keep up with what's going on with her brain," said Craven.

"Why do you think she hasn't woken up yet?" Jules asked.

"It's hard to say," said Craven, looking at Spike, who was stroking Adele's hand with his thumb. "Sometimes patients just don't seem to want to wake up. Can you think of any reason why?"

Spike and Jules shook their heads.

"Unfortunately, I don't have an answer. In the morning, I'm going to contact her primary neurosurgeon," said Craven.

"Well, why wait until the morning?" Spike asked. The doctor looked long and hard at him. "I'm sorry, I'm just tired."

"You should go home and get some rest," Craven advised. "There's nothing more you can do here."

"No, I'm not leaving her," said Spike, shaking his head furiously.

"Spike, it won't do her any good if you two end up here, too, collapsed from exhaustion, too," said Craven.

After considering this for a long moment, Spike nodded and got up from his chair. A nurse entered the room and moved the cot bed out of the room.

"I promise to call you at nine a.m. with an update; sooner, if she shows signs of waking," said Craven.

Spike nodded again, then left the room with Jules. Sam had taken their car home, so Spike gave her a ride home. Spike parked the car and waited for Jules to get out, but she didn't move. She turned toward him and placed a hand on his knee.

"I know it's going to be really hard the next couple of days, but get some rest, okay?" Jules said. "I'm worried about her, too. But her folks are taking care of the twins, so for now, you just take care of you."

Spike nodded.

"Do you want me to call you in the morning and check on you?"

Spike shook his head. "No, I'll be fine."

"Okay. Call me if you need me, no matter what time it is," said Jules.

Spike nodded, then Jules got out of the car and walked up the front steps to her house.


	5. Come Back to Life

_Posting chapter 5 quickly, while my hack is working..._

**Chapter 5: Come Back to Life**

* * *

The next day, Jules and Spike found themselves in the hospital room once more. Adele was still comatose. Her eyes were still moving rapidly back and forth under her eyelids, as if she was dreaming constantly.

Spike sat helplessly by, watching as Adele appeared to grow more fragile by the second. She was becoming smaller and smaller, as she slowly seemed to fade away.

Abruptly, Spike was brought back to the here and now, as alarms quickly sounded alerted the staff: Adele had flat-lined.

Spike stood frozen in time, paralyzed with fear, completely beside himself; suddenly so unsure of everything. His world was rapidly crashing down around him, shattering into little unrecognizable splinters.

The hospital staff rushed into her room, ushering him out quickly, as they called for the crash cart. The noises and sounds rolled into each other, crashing inexplicably into a blur. The room had taken on an eerie surreal feeling. Time seemed to have slowed down from his perspective. Nothing made sense.

Spike vaguely heard the doctor shouting for a crash cart. "Code Blue! She's flat-lined!"

He watched from outside the room in horror as Craven ordered the nurse to charge the defibrillator to 300 joules. Spike tried to process the bits and pieces he could hear, from the other side of the glass. He wondered why anybody would want 300 Jules. She was an awesome friend and co-worker, but 300 of her seemed to be an implausible request. Sleep-deprived and apprehensive with worry, Spike was not entirely with it. His thoughts raced rapidly, incoherently, through his mind.

_She can't die,_ he thought to himself over and over. _But what if she does? What then? What do I do? What happens then?_

The disjointed thoughts engulfed Spike's wearily fatigued psyche. Suddenly, the loud, long, screaming beep of the flat-line alert was replaced slowly by blips of a faintly-beating heart becoming rapidly stronger, as Adele fought her way back to the ones she loved, her family, her Spike.

"She's back," said Craven calmly, sighing with relief.

Without warning, Adele's eyes flew open and she rose upright in the bed, gasping audibly. Spike's heart leapt with simultaneous fear and relief. Ignoring everyone around them, he and Jules reentered the room, taking care to remain to the side, out of the way of the health professionals.

"You're in a hospital!" said Craven to Adele, who was hyperventilating and gagging against the ventilator tube. "Relax!"

"Don't fight it, Adele," Jules said steadily, from the sidelines.

"Relax, relax, you're all right!" said Craven. He had both hands on Adele's shoulders in a secure hold, instructing her with a firm command. "Can you blink?" Adele made another gagging sound and blinked. "Alright, alright, raise your thumb. Raise your thumb." Adele raised her thumb, still panicking. "Good. Good. Do you want the tube out?"

Adele's blood pressure and pulse was spiking. Despite her panic, she managed to nod and blink. Craven quickly pulled out the ventilator tube. A nurse placed an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose.

"Just breathe," said Craven calmly. "You're fine."

It took a few long moments, but gradually, Adele's breaths evened out, then deepened, and her blood pressure returned to normal.

"That's it," said the nurse calmly.

"I'm Doctor Craven. This is Nurse Prior."

"Kaitlyn," said the nurse, smiling.

"Of course, you know Spike and Jules," said Craven, looking at Jules and Spike.

"Welcome back, Adele," said Jules. "We've all been worried sick. You shouldn't scare us like that."

Adele looked around, confused.

"You have a question?" Craven asked.

Adele blinked and Kaitlyn removed the mask. "Where am I?"

"Toronto General Hospital," said Craven. "You were in an explosion."

"I don't remember," said Adele hoarsely, looking around helplessly.

"That's all right. It's normal," said Craven. "Most people never remember the trauma."

Then Adele looked at Spike and Jules and said the last words they wanted to hear.

"I... I don't know them."

* * *

The doctor gazed steadily at Adele. "You don't know Spike and Jules?" he asked calmly, clarifying.

From behind the mask, Adele shook her head slowly back and forth.

Jules looked at Spike standing beside her. His expression was one of despair.

"No worries," she said, more for Spike than herself, her tone more reassured than she felt. "It'll come."

"Absolutely," Craven said, nodding. "Temporary memory loss is to be expected. Don't let it worry you. Are you breathing comfortably?" Adele nodded. "Good. Let's switch to the nasal cannula, Kaitlyn."

"Okay," Kaitlyn said. She stepped forward and spoke quietly to Adele, as she took off the mask and inserted the cannula.

"You're doing fine," said Craven. "You just rest. I need to talk to Spike and Jules for a moment, if you two would come with me, please."

As the door closed behind Spike, he started breathing heavily, panicking. He sank against the wall and closed his eyes for a long moment, to calm himself. He wished it would all go away, that it was just a bad dream he could wake up from. When he opened his eyes again, the doctor was still standing in front of him.

"Spike, how long have you and Adele been together? Including before you were married," Craven asked.

"Including when we were dating, three years," said Spike. "Why?"

"Adele is suffering from retrograde amnesia. The swelling of her brain explains it," said Craven. "Who an amnesiac remembers depends on the prior relationship."

They glanced into the room, where Adele had quickly fallen asleep.

"She was in a car accident last year," said Spike. "Could that have anything to do with this?"

"I don't think so, it's too long ago," said Craven, "however, a previous head or brain injury could be exacerbating her symptoms or may have caused a relapse of some sort."

"Is she just going to have to relive the last few years of her life, until her brain catches up to itself?" Spike asked. "She thinks I'm a stranger. How am I supposed to even take her home? She has to be able to trust me, just to walk out of here."

"Rather than fully relying on medical remedies, you'll need to rebuild habits with her," said Craven. "Prove to her you are who you say you are, with something as simple as showing her your wedding photo, perhaps. Once you get her to trust you, try showing her other photos. That may trigger some memories to resurface. Let me be clear, Spike; I believe all her memories are there. I think she's just not able to access them right now, because of what's going on with her brain."

Spike nodded. "With the swelling and everything," he said.

"Yes," said Craven. "Hang in there. She'll come around."

Spike nodded. He certainly hoped so.

* * *

Jules stood in front of the team in the barn, an hour or so later.

"I have good news," she said, looking around at all of them. "Adele has regained consciousness."

Cheers went around the room, as well as smiles and sighs of relief.

"But there's a problem," said Jules. "She has some memory loss."

"Retrogressive amnesia is normal after severe trauma," said Ed calmly.

"Yeah," said Leah. "I remember when I totaled my car when I was 19. That day is still a blank to me."

"Well, Adele's blank is about the last five years," said Jules frankly.

Stunned silence palpated the room.

"To her," Jules went on, "it's 2007 and she's still full-time in college, where she struggled with severe depression and anxiety. She thinks she still cashiers at Safeway, too."

"She doesn't know she changed jobs?" Sam asked.

"I doubt it," said Jules. "She didn't recognize Spike or me."

Looks of shock came over the team's faces.

"Wait, if she didn't recognize Spike..." said Leah slowly.

"Means she won't know any of us," said Ed.

"I'm sure it's just a temporary condition," Jules said, her voice more confident than she felt.

"Can we go visit her?" Ed asked.

"Not just yet," said Jules cautiously. "Her neurologist, Doctor Craven, will let us know when she's up to it."

"Copy that," said Ed, and the rest of the team followed suit.

* * *

Spike watched helplessly as Adele fought her way back to consciousness, that afternoon. Frown lines appeared immediately as the sleepiness wore off and were quickly replaced by the effects of the concussion and edema. She let out a short groan before vomiting, as waves of pain and nausea washed over her. After several long minutes, she stopped retching and shaking and laid back against her pillows in exhaustion. Only then did she attempt to open her eyes. She clenched the sheets tightly in her hands and rolled around on the bed, trying and failing to find a comfortable position.

"Easy, Adele, nurse is coming," Spike said, pressing the call button. "Remember my name? It's Spike."

Mostly ignoring him, Adele shook her head ever-so-slightly in response, her eyes squeezed tightly shut from the pain.

Craven entered the room a minute later, followed closely by a nurse. "How are you doing, Adele?" he asked.

"My head... hurts..." Adele cried, clutching her head in her hands, trying to alleviate the pain. Tears of pain streamed down her face.

"I've got something for your pain," said Craven. He handed her a pill and the nurse gave her a cup of water. "We need to take you down for tests. I wanted to wait until you woke. Do you want to wait until you're feeling better? The pill should take about fifteen minutes to take effect."

"No, I'm fine. Let's do it," said Adele.

Two more nurses entered the room and lifted the bars on the side of Adele's bed and began to wheel her out of the room.

* * *

An hour later, the tests were complete. Adele had struggled on the way to and from the tests; the elevator's motions down and up from the imaging department made her very nauseous and she threw up several times. Adele was wheeled back into her room to sleep off the antiemetic and pain pill. She awoke a few hours later to the ever-present debilitating headache.

Shortly after she awoke, with a press of the call button, Craven entered the room with the test results.

"How's your head, Adele?" he asked.

"Killing me," Adele moaned.

"I'm sorry the transport gave you so much trouble, but with concussions, that's not abnormal. I've brought you another pain pill," said Craven, nodding at the nurse. She stepped forward and watched as Adele took the pill from her, swallowed it, and washed it down with a cup of water. "And I have your most recent test results."

Adele's eyebrows rose. "And?" she asked.

"What I have isn't brilliant. The tests show that, while the swelling of your brain hasn't gone down at all, it hasn't increased," said Craven. "This is good. How are the headaches?"

"Not as frequent," said Adele.

"But still pretty nasty?"

"Yes."

"Well, at this point, there's not much more we can do, except monitor your progress and manage your pain," said Craven. "So in keeping with the heavy anti-inflammatory and diuretics medications we have you on, I'm sending you home."

Adele's head jerked up; she winced, regretting the motion immediately. "Ow... I can go home?"

"If I were to discharge you, do you have someone who can stay with you?" Craven asked, though he knew the answer. "It's not a good idea for you to be on your own until your memory returns."

"I can stay with my folks," said Adele.

"Adele," Spike interjected gently, "they're sharing responsibility of taking care of the twins. Don't you think it would be, er... a bit much if they had to take care of you, too?"

Adele glared at him. "Then who... Spike?" she asked testily.

"Me," said Spike simply.

"How do I know you are who you say you are?" Adele asked him.

Spike sighed and pulled out a sheet of paper from his pocket. It was a copy of their marriage certificate. He also pulled out two photographs: their wedding photo and a family photo. He had gone home and grabbed them while she was sleeping.

"See?" Spike asked. "We've been married since 2010. The twins were born in March of 2011."

Adele frowned. "If you say so," she said. She now had no choice but to trust him.

"I'm going to go home to prepare a room for you," said Spike. "Jules is on her way to pick you up, alright?"

"Who's Jules again?" Adele asked.

"I work with her," said Spike. "We work for the SRU, Strategic Response Unit."

"Okay," said Adele.

"I want you back here twice a week for scans, Adele," said Craven. "I want you back here immediately if your headaches increase in intensity or frequency, alright?"

"Alright," said Adele. "Thank you, Doctor."

Spike met Adele's gaze and nodded, then left the room. He met Jules in the hallway.

"Hey, Jules," he said. "She's waiting for you."

"Alright," said Jules. "Where are you going?"

"Home; I'll meet you there, I'm going to prepare a room for her," said Spike.

Jules nodded and continued down the hallway. She entered the room as the doctor was leaving the room.

"Remember our deal, Adele. You're free to go as soon as you get dressed. Jules is here to take you home," said Craven.

Adele nodded and the doctor and nurses left the room.

"Adele, do you need any help getting dressed?" Jules asked.

Adele shook her head, then winced in pain, changed her mind, and nodded. Jules stepped forward to help her change clothes.


	6. Home Again

**Chapter 6: Home Again**

* * *

As Jules was helping Adele with the discharge procedure at the hospital, Spike had arrived home and was preparing the house for Adele's return.

He quickly cleaned house, clearing the rooms of clutter and making sure there was nothing left on the floors that Adele could trip on. He placed her car keys on a hook next to the front door, not that she would be driving anytime soon. He turned the lights on low in every room and made sure there was no way for Adele to lock herself in any rooms. He also left the doors in every room ajar.

Spike went into the bathroom and organized her medications into a pill organizer and placed his and her razors and her tweezers in a cabinet and locked it. He didn't think she should be allowed to use them until he was certain she would not harm herself or was feeling suicidal.

Finally, he went into the guest bedroom and readied it for himself. He wanted Adele to be able to sleep in their bedroom, where she would be most comfortable and perhaps, where memories would resurface; however, he had no idea when she would be ready to be intimate again and even sleep in the same bed. He wasn't going to push her; the last thing he wanted was her to fear him.

As he exited the bedroom, his cell phone rang. It was Adele's mother.

"Hey, Stella, what's up?" Spike greeted her. "Yeah, Adele's on her way home... Um, well, I'm not sure she'll be up for visitors just yet... She's feeling pretty shitty... I'll let you know... No, we'll be alright... you're busy enough with the kids and that's a huge help... But thank you... Come over anytime you need anything for them, though, alright? Absolutely, I'll call you as things move along... She just needs time to adjust... Thanks for calling. Okay, bye."

Spike hung up and sat in the kitchen and waited for Jules and Adele to arrive.

A few minutes later, the sound of tires on pavement signaled the arrival. Spike took a deep breath, stood up, and went outside to meet them at the car.

"Hi, welcome home," he said to Adele. He so badly wanted to move forward and hug her, but he knew he had to let her come to him.

Slowly, painstakingly, Adele stepped toward the house and entered it. Spike stayed close by, but not too close, always taking care to remain in her line of vision, so as not to startle her with his presence if she failed to recognize him again.

Adele looked around the entryway, confused. "I live here?" she asked.

"Yes, Adele," said Spike. "We live here. We've lived here for about two and a half years."

"I... I don't remember," Adele said softly, tears welling up in her eyes, a frightened expression on her face.

"Shhh, it's alright," said Spike calmly, placing a gentle hand on her arm. Every fiber in his being screamed at him to take her into his arms and to hold her close, to comfort her, but he couldn't. "Don't get upset. Take a deep breath."

"I'm sorry," Adele said, wiping her eyes.

"Don't apologize, hon, it's just fine. I understand how scary this must be for you. You're alright," said Spike. "Would you like to walk around the house with me for a bit?"

"Um... sure," said Adele. Spike took her hospital bag from Jules and set it on the bench in the entryway.

"Jules, are you staying?" Spike asked.

"Do you want me to, Spike?" Jules asked. "I can."

"Um... we should be okay," said Spike. "I'll call you if I need you, okay?"

"Copy that," said Jules. She smiled at Adele. "You'll be okay. It'll come."

Adele nodded and looked at Spike, as Jules left, closing the door behind her. "Okay, what now?" she asked.

"Are you ready for a tour of the house, or do you want to rest?" Spike asked.

"A tour," said Adele. "I'll rest after."

"Okay," said Spike. "How's your head?"

"Okay right now," Adele responded. "They gave me another pain pill before I left."

"Good," said Spike.

They walked around the house together, Spike answering questions Adele had. First, he showed her their bedroom, where the bed was made and he had laid out a set of clean clothes for her to change into when she got home. He stepped out of the room to let her change in private, then reappeared in the doorway.

In the living room, Adele paused at the bookshelf, which had photos on it.

"These are our kids?" she asked.

"Yes," said Spike, smiling at the photo. "Our daughter is Kanya and our son is Lewis."

"How old are they?" Adele asked, gazing down at the family photo.

"15 months," said Spike.

Adele stared at the photo, then looked away, blinking rapidly. "It's like the memory is there, it's just so foggy," she said.

"Well, the doctor said that's normal," said Spike. "You don't have to remember everything in one day, Adele. Cut yourself some slack."

Adele nodded.

"Are you hungry?" Spike asked.

"Yeah, I could eat something," said Adele.

"Got anything in mind?" Spike asked.

"Scrambled egg sandwiches?" Adele suggested, salivating at the thought.

"You got it," Spike said, smiling at her.

"You like to cook?" Adele asked, as she followed him into the kitchen and he began to prepare lunch.

"I love to cook. I'm Italian. Food is the answer to everything," said Spike, smiling. Adele smiled back.

As they ate in awkward silence, Spike left his thoughts drift. He knew not to take all these strange questions coming from Adele as personally, but the experience of repeating himself and reeducating her about him, his life, her life, _their _life, felt wrong to him somehow. It was going to take some getting used to. It was exhausting. His primary concern, however, was helping her not to panic and be afraid. As she became more comfortable and more trusting and her brain continued to heal, he hoped the memories would return.

After they finished eating, Spike could see Adele was getting tired and another headache was beginning to present itself. She swallowed down two pain pills with some milk, then Spike walked her to the bedroom. She paused in the doorway and looked at him.

"Are you going to...?" she began, looking from him to the bed. "I mean, later?"

"Nope," Spike said, shaking his head. "Not until you remember."

Adele looked up at him, then to the side. Not meeting his gaze, she asked, "Spike... Are you upset with me?"

Spike was caught off-guard with the question. "No, sweetie, not at all," he said firmly, to mask his alarm. "I'm sorry if I caused you to think that. I just don't want to be intimate with you until you're ready. That includes just sleeping in the same bed."

Adele nodded. "Oh, okay," she said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," said Spike. "Call for me if you need me, okay? I'll be in the living room."

"Okay," said Adele. She lay down on the bed and pulled the covers up to her shoulders. "Spike?"

"Yes, Adele?"

"Will you stay here until I fall asleep?" Adele asked.

"Do you want me to?" Spike asked.

"I do."

"Then I will," Spike said, smiling reassuringly at her.

Adele smiled and sank against her pillows and let the painkillers pull her down to sleep.

* * *

Though Spike checked on her every few hours, Adele didn't wake until almost 1pm the next day. Unfortunately, the full night's sleep didn't look it had done her much good. She had dark circles under her eyes and looked pale and wan.

"Headache?" he asked, as she sat down at the kitchen table.

"Yeah," said Adele, squeezing her eyes shut against the light.

"You should eat something first," said Spike, handing her the pain pill. "Painkillers aren't good on an empty stomach."

Spike got up from the table and made them some lunch. When they started eating, Spike handed her a pain pill, which she swallowed down quickly with some orange juice.

"You've got more scans this afternoon, at two," said Spike. "Are you ready for it?"

"Just not the damn elevator," Adele muttered, frowning.

Spike smiled. "Don't beat yourself up for the elevator making you sick," said Spike. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Really, Spike? Apparently forgetting that you're married and have two kids and a steady job— or at least I did, before this— that's nothing to be embarrassed about?" Adele snapped.

Spike shook his head. "Adele, you didn't plant those bombs," he said. "This, all of this, it is not your fault. Don't for one second think that it is."

Adele buried her face in her hands. "I just want to remember, Spike," she sighed. "I want to be able to drive again. I want to be able to work again."

"All in good time, sweetie," said Spike gently, "all in good time."

* * *

That afternoon, nurses wheeled Adele back into her hospital room, where she slept off the effects of the antiemetic pill. Craven entered the room when she awoke, an hour or so later.

"Adele, your scans don't show any change," said Craven. "But as you're not getting any worse, I'd like to reduce your scans to once a week."

"I can handle it, Doc," Adele muttered.

"I understand how you feel, but I simply must insist that it's in your best interest to not be subject to all the discomfort the transport and the scans bring you," said Craven. "How are the headaches?"

"Pain seems to be worse at night," Adele admitted.

"That's to be expected," said Craven. "These headaches are frequently brought on and exacerbated by stress and fatigue. How are things at home?"

"I still don't remember anything."

"Not to worry," said Craven. "There's no time limit on remembering. Go home, continue taking your medications, get sleep, and I will reschedule Thursday's appointment for same time next week."

Recognizing that it would be pointless to argue, Adele sighed, then nodded. With Jules' assistance, she got dressed and walked out of the hospital with Jules and Spike.

Upon arriving home, Adele face-planted on their bed and was fast asleep in seconds. Spike gently pulled the covers up to her shoulders, smiling sadly to himself, then left the room.

* * *

The resounding crash had the bomb tech out of bed and running across the hall to the bathroom before he was even fully awake. He managed not to crash into the bathroom doorway in the dark.

"Adele?" As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Spike could see Adele leaning heavily against the sink, broken glass surrounding her feet. "Don't move, there's glass all over the floor."

"Dropped the freaking glass," Adele muttered.

"Headache?"

"Yeah."

"Let me get the light," said Spike.

"No, please," Adele said quickly, pleadingly. "The light hurts."

Spike felt a rush of pity at Adele's words. "Okay, sweetie, let's get you into the bedroom," he said. "I'll clean up while the pill takes effect."

"Okay, thank you," said Adele.

Holding onto his arm for help balancing, Adele walked into the bedroom with Spike. She sat down on the edge of the bed and he handed her a plastic cup of water and a pain pill. Pulling the bedroom door to block the light, but leaving it ajar, Spike reentered the bathroom, turned on the light, and cleaned up the glass. Only when he was absolutely certain he had found every shard did he return to the bedroom.

"Pain any better?" Spike asked, from the doorway.

"Getting there," Adele murmured sleepily, the effects of the painkiller already apparent.

"Tomorrow, Adele, would you like to take a short drive and go somewhere that might jog your memory?" Spike asked.

"Sure," Adele murmured. "Where?"

"Well, I was thinking..." Spike began. "Well, I have a few places in mind."

"Where?" Adele repeated.

Spike sighed. On one hand, at least in regards to the bridge, he didn't want to tell Adele ahead of time, in case she couldn't handle it. On the other, he knew "surprising" her would not be a good idea, since if she was frightened or overwhelmed, she would shut down.

"I was thinking," Spike said, "the picnic area where we had our first date; where we were married. And... the bridge."

"The bridge?" Adele asked.

"Adele, can I ask you if you're feeling depressed or suicidal right now?" Spike asked. He knew that, while her medications likely were still working, her emotional side could be a different story.

"Nope," said Adele. "I'm just..."

"Scared?"

"Yeah."

"Well, don't be," Spike assured her. "I'm with you."

Adele smiled. "I'm not, Spike. I'm with you."

* * *

_Personally, so far, this was my favorite chapter to write. As an author, I too have to be patient with Adele, regarding when her memory returns. Characters have a way of writing the story themselves, in a way. Amnesia is a slow, painstaking process. Nothing usually comes from just telling the amnesiac stories, from what I've researched._

_If you read it, please review. I can see folks have been reading, but haven't reviewed. I'd really like to hear what you thought of it so far. Thanks._


	7. Resurfacing

**Chapter 7: Resurfacing**

* * *

When Adele awoke late the next morning, she stumbled into the kitchen, head throbbing. Spike was reading the paper, but he looked up when he heard her.

"Hey, good morning," Spike said, smiling. "How are you feeling?"

"Like hell," Adele answered, wincing.

"You should eat something before you take your pain pill," said Spike. "I'll make you some toast."

He got up from the table and went over to the freezer. He took out four slices of bread and placed two in the toaster and turned it to medium. He let his mind wander until the toast popped up, then placed it on a plate for Adele.

"Here you go, just how you like it," Spike said, smiling.

"Thank you," said Adele, smiling back.

"Oh, and..." Spike said, getting up from his chair and going over to the teapot. He handed her a steaming mug of her favorite lemon tea.

"Spike, how did you know I liked lemon tea?" Adele asked, smiling as she accepted the mug from him.

"Well, you used to make it all the time," said Spike. "It's your favorite."

Adele nodded and took a drink from the mug.

"Are you ready to go somewhere today?" Spike asked.

"Where?" Adele asked.

"Well, that depends. How are you feeling today?" Spike asked.

"I'm fine, Spike," said Adele. "I'm just really tired. Waiting for this pain pill to kick in. Waiting for the day I can take it and not sleep for 16 hours straight. Where are we going?"

"Any urge to self-harm or thoughts of suicide?" Spike asked seriously.

"What? No," Adele said quickly. She looked confused and alarmed. "Why would you ask me that, Spike?"

"Because I know you, Adele, even if you don't remember," said Spike. "I know you struggled with depression and anxiety in college. It's my responsibility to keep up on how you're feeling.

"I want to show you something and tell you... a story," said Spike. "But I don't want to upset you."

"I can handle it," said Adele. "You didn't answer my question."

"Alright, then come with me," Spike said, offering her his hand. "Here's your answer: I want to take you to where we first met."

He didn't expect her to take it, but after a moment of hesitation, she did.

"Do you trust me?"

Adele looked up at him. "I trust you."

* * *

Ten minutes later, they arrived at Don Valley Parkway Bridge. Spike parked the car, pocketed his badge (just in case), and, together, they walked toward the bridge. As they neared it, Adele looked around, confused.

"Spike, what are we doing here?" Adele asked. "I don't like this... It feels like... we shouldn't be here..."

"Calm down, Adele," Spike said. "I know you're scared. It's okay. You're safe. This is where we first met."

Adele closed her eyes, letting her body relax and inhaling deeply, as the memory washed over her.

"Do you remember?" Spike asked.

Adele began to hyperventilate. "Yes," she said, starting to cry. "I... I wanted to jump..."

"Shh, Adele, it's okay," Spike said, easing her down to sit on the pavement and putting his arm around her comfortingly. "Tell me what you remember."

"I wanted to jump," said Adele. "Jules... she persuaded me to come down."

"That's right," said Spike, nodding. "You made the right choice."

_After another very long moment, to the team's immense relief, Adele stepped back, then stepped off the barrier. Spike rushed forward and grabbed her securely around the waist, as she dissolved into tears and crumpled to the ground._

"_I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry..."_

"_No, no, no, it's OK," said Jules, holding her close. "You don't have to say that."_

"_Subject's been contained," said Spike. "Stand by for decision to contact family."_

"_Copy that," said Greg._

"_I'm sorry, Jules. It was so stupid," Adele cried._

"_You got nothing to be sorry about, my friend. Nothing, all right?" Jules said firmly._

_Spike offered his hand and helped both Jules and Adele stand up. Once she was standing safely on the ground, he pulled her into a hug. He could feel her body shaking with unshed sobs. When he released her, she looked up at him through puffy, bloodshot, exhausted eyes._

"_I'm Mike," said Spike._

"_Adele."_

"_Yeah, I know," he said, giving her a sideways cheeky grin._

_Adele chuckled._

"_Aha," said Spike, "there it is."_

"_What?"_

"_A smile," said Spike._

_Adele smiled again, stronger this time._

"What happened afterward?" Adele asked.

"The team took you to the E.R. to get checked out and to sign off on the case," said Spike. "Remember what happened?"

It took a minute, but then Adele nodded. "I remember screaming at you."

_"I'm NOT crazy!"_

_The curtains of a bay were torn back, and Adele, seeing Greg, Jules, and Spike standing nearby, rushed over to them. Spike, caught off-guard, grabbed her gently by her shoulders and looked straight into her eyes._

_"Whoa, whoa, easy, Adele. Adele, go back inside, honey," Spike said urgently._

_"No! This bastard wants to lock me up!" Adele yelled angrily._

_"Shh, shh, no, they don't," Spike said, shaking his head._

_"I'm NOT going to the nuthouse!" Adele yelled._

_"Adele, you showed suicidal behavior," Spike said. "Something has to be done. Maybe this is the push you needed, to get the help you need."_

_"I'm sick of people telling me what to do! This is MY LIFE!" Adele screamed in Spike's face. Spike didn't flinch._

"And then... the team persuaded the doctor to release me into their custody," said Adele, opening her eyes. "I spent the weekend in your protection."

Spike nodded. "That's right," he said, smiling encouragingly. "You're starting to remember."

"I remember you making me laugh," Adele said, smiling. "That was what attracted me to you the most."

Spike grinned. "Good. That's very good. So your memory's up to at least mid-June of 2009."

Adele nodded wearily, then massaged her temples with her fingertips. "My head is killing me."

"Let's go home," Spike said. "You need to rest."

"Copy that," Adele said, walking with him to the car.

"Hey, that's my line," Spike said, smiling and taking her hand. "You remember that the team says that?"

Adele responded to his question with a pretty smile.

* * *

That afternoon, Spike and Adele were looking through picture books, attempting to jog more memories, when the doorbell rang. It was Jules.

"Hey, Jules," Spike said, smiling. He stepped aside to let Jules inside.

"Hi," Jules said, walking into the living room with an envelope in her hands. "How are you feeling, Adele?"

"Not bad," said Adele. "I'm starting to remember."

"That's great," Jules said, smiling. "I have something for you."

Jules handed her the envelope and she opened it. Inside were more photos; the team sharing stories of initiation and hazing; everyone sailing toy boats on the water; Spike flying a remote control helicopter; Spike and Adele dancing on a dock; them standing close, arms around each other, kissing tenderly.

_Spike gently took her face in his hands, leaned down, and kissed her tenderly._

_When they parted, Adele was speechless. "I, um..." she said quietly, then she looked down at her feet, then back up at him. "I don't know what to say."_

_Spike inclined his head curiously, looking down at her. "You don't have to say anything," he said softly._

_"Do you... do you think we could do it again?" Adele asked him._

_Spike grinned, then leaned in and they kissed softly again. Adele wrapped her arms more securely around Spike's shoulders and she felt his arms do the same around her waist._

_They kissed until they could barely breathe, then parted when they finally had to, both desperate for air. Suddenly, Adele wished she did not need oxygen to survive. Spike's kisses were warm, tender, light, and had a moment of hesitance that left her craving more each time._

_Satisfied with the photos, Jules snuck back up the beach and rejoined everyone else._

_After a while, they realized they needed to remember their manners and rejoin the group._

_"Are you ready to go back?" Spike asked._

_Adele looked conflicted. "No," she said, "but we really should."_

_Spike nodded, took her hand, and they walked back up to where everyone awaited their return._

Adele smiled as she reviewed the photos. "I remember now," she said. "Sam crashed your helicopter. You were so pissed."

"That's right," Spike said, smiling. "You took me down to the dock to deescalate."

Adele nodded. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Yes, it did."

"We started going out after that?"

Spike nodded. "Yes. We celebrated your birthday together, with the team."

"I remember."

"Good, very good," said Spike. "Later, we both met each other's parents."

"On your birthday," said Adele.

"Yep," said Spike, nodding. "You told me you worried about me, with what I did for work."

"That I was never sure if you would go to work and come back again."

Spike nodded. "Yeah," he said, looking at her. "Then you told me... that you loved me."

"Well, if I said that... I must have meant it," Adele said, looking up at him. She smiled.

Spike nodded. "The next day... Lew died."

"He stepped on a land mine," Adele said, closing her eyes, as the memory flowed over her. She opened her eyes and saw Spike's eyes were shining with tears. "Oh, Spike... we don't have to talk about this if it's too hard for you."

Spike wiped his eyes quickly. "No, it's okay..." he murmured. "Do you remember more?" Adele nodded. "Go on."

"I remember you came to my apartment and... you told me you loved me, too."

_Raising a shaking fist, Spike gently knocked on her apartment door five times. A moment later, the door swung open. Spike and Adele looked at each other, but neither moved. Without Spike having to say a word, Adele could see it written all over his face, that something had gone terribly wrong today._

_Tears shone in Spike's eyes as he swallowed hard. Then, his voice awash with overwhelming emotion, he murmured, "I love you, Adele."_

_In answer, Adele silently stepped forward and met Spike's lips in a long kiss. Spike's hands pressed against her neck, deepening the kiss. Finally, when their lips parted, one hand moved to her waist, the other stroking her face. Then both his hands framed her face. He swallowed a heavy sob, before kissing her again, then he held her close, wrapping his arms around her, pressing his face into her shoulder, feeling like, if he let her go, he could lose her, too, at that very moment._

"I didn't want to lose you, too," Spike said, after Adele opened her eyes. "It would have been too much to bear."

Sensing that they needed time alone, Jules stood up.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," she murmured. "I just wanted to drop off the photos. I thought it might help."

"It did, Jules," said Adele, smiling. "Thanks."

"No problem," Jules said, smiling, then leaving the room.

After the door closed behind Jules, Adele looked at Spike.

"What happened next?" she asked.

"Well, we're up to November, 2009, now," said Spike. "We responded to a hot call at a hockey rink. Subject's name was Darren Kovacs. He was suffering from survivors' guilt, after his three friends had been killed in Afghanistan. Sam tried to talk him down when he—"

"When he took you hostage," said Adele. "Right?"

"Right," said Spike. "But Ed had ended up taking the Sierra shot. Sam took Darren's death really hard. He almost resigned."

"I went to SRU Headquarters to meet you," Adele said, blinking rapidly as the memory overcame her. "I needed to make sure you were okay."

_The team was just leaving the building when she arrived. She parked her car, got out, and ran over to them._

_"Spike!"_

_Hearing Adele's voice, Spike looked up and his eyebrows rose with surprise when he saw her running toward him. In the next few seconds, he had dropped his bag and his car keys, and she had run into his arms and crashed her lips against his._

_"Are you OK?" she asked, tears running down her face as she gently framed his face with her hands. "I saw what happened on the news."_

_Spike nodded, his eyes weary and exhausted, his energy and adrenaline from the day's work spent._

_"I'm OK," he said. "Adele, we... we need to talk."_

_Adele took his hand and Spike took off his earpiece, then they walked out of earshot of the team._

_"What is it?" she asked._

_"I need to tell you something. I don't know how to say this, but... Anyone who gets close to me... my dad, Lou... they either get hurt, physically or emotionally, or killed. I don't want that for you," he said, looking straight at her._

_Adele shook her head in disbelief. "Spike..." she said. "Are you saying you don't want us to be together anymore?"_

_Spike looked away from her. "I don't know."_

_"Spike," said Adele, tears brimming in her eyes, "when lives are taken, we mourn and we miss them. But we need to remember those we love without forgetting those that are still with us." She gently took his face in her hands. "I love you, Spike, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you go that easily."_

_Spike nodded, listening._

_"Do you really think I'd still be here if that's what I was afraid of?" Adele asked him seriously._

_Spike shook his head and gently wiped away her tears with the pad of his thumb. Adele leaned up and kissed him again._

_Their faces touching, their eyes closed, Spike said, "I love you, too, Adele. I-I'm so sorry..."_

_"Shh, I know," said Adele. "You were grieving. You needed space. I understand. But I need you to come back to me now."_

_"Promise me you won't let me be such an idiot ever again?" Spike asked her._

_Adele smiled and hugged him. "Copy that," she said, holding him close, as they went back over to join the team._

"I said I wanted to be with you, no matter what," Adele said, looking at him. "That I wasn't going to go anywhere that easily."

"I made you promise not to let me be such an idiot ever again," Spike said, smiling.

"Did I keep that promise?" Adele asked.

"Yes, you did," Spike said, smiling. "You certainly did."

Adele smiled.

"Adele," Spike said slowly, looking straight into her eyes, "can I..."

"Can you what, Spike?"

"Can I... can I kiss you?"

Adele was speechless. "Y-yes..." she stammered.

Spike gently took Adele's face in his hands and leaned in. Very, very slowly, he brought his lips to hers and kissed her tenderly. Adele tensed at first, surprised, then relaxed into his touch. She slowly brought her hands up and entwined them in his soft hair. They slowly broke apart and leaned against each other's foreheads.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that," Spike whispered to her. He smiled against her cheek.

Adele grinned. "Do you think we could do it again?"

"Of course," Spike said, grinning. Adele wrapped her arms more securely around his neck and shoulders and Spike wrapped his arms around her waist, and their lips met again. Spike pulled her closer to him, deepening the kiss. When they parted, he murmured, "I love you, Adele."

Adele smiled. "I love you, too, Spike."

* * *

_Well, after working on this chapter for most of today... I'm so ready for bed. But I've been watching Harry Potter all day, so that won't happen for a few hours, lol._

_I am fully aware that it would likely take much longer for an amnesiac to regain his or her memories, but I'm not finding any information in that regard, and I want Adele to regain her memory as soon as possible, so that being said, I've expedited her rate of recovery._

_Please review! Thanks. More to come..._


	8. Baby Steps

_Hey, all. Sorry this chapter took so long. It took a long time for certain things to fall into place in my head. I have had a crazy few weeks and haven't had much energy to write until recently. So here ya go. Enjoy!_

**Chapter 8: Baby Steps**

* * *

The following afternoon, Spike walked into the living room to find Adele looking at more photos. Taking a cue from the photos Jules had given them, they had spent the morning walking around the picnic area, where they had had their first date in June of 2009.

As Spike watched from the doorway, Adele lightly ran her fingers over the photos, pausing on two photos framed together. They were in New York City, where they had got engaged, under a cherry blossom tree in Central Park; the second, of the two of them in Times Square, waiting for the ball to drop on New Year's Eve. A passerby tourist had taken the photos for them.

"Did you have fun today?" Spike asked her.

Adele looked up. "Yeah," she said, "it was a good day. I think I'm gonna go lie down, though."

"Headache?"

"Yeah."

"Bad one?"

If Spike hadn't been watching her every move, he would have missed the barely perceptible nod of her head.

"Come drink something, then get some rest," said Spike. "When you wake up later, I'll make us some dinner."

"Okay," said Adele, before following him into the kitchen. "Spike, that park, that was a good day, too, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," said Spike. "Do you remember?"

"Yeah," said Adele, washing down her pain pill with some apple juice. "It was our first date. I met Sophie and Clark and Dean, and Shelley and Wordy and their girls. We barbecued and you lit off fireworks and flew a remote control helicopter for us to watch."

Spike nodded. "Yep," he said, smiling. "Fireworks are my specialty, next to bomb defusing."

"You and I had our first kiss on the dock."

Spike nodded.

"I hope we have more of those days," said Adele.

"We will, Adele," Spike said, smiling. "We will."

"Then you and I decided to take a trip to New York City, just us," said Adele, walking with him back to the bedroom. "I'd always wanted to go there. We toured the city and got engaged under a cherry blossom tree."

"In Central Park," Spike said, nodding and smiling.

"Then we spent New Year's Eve in Times Square?" Adele asked.

"And watched the ball drop," said Spike.

"We got married in June," said Adele. Spike nodded. "And your dad... he died that August."

Spike nodded solemnly. "And I asked you how do you do it," he said.

"How do I do what?"

"How do you deal with what your husband does for a living? How can you bear watching me walk out the door every morning, not knowing if I'll ever come back? And you know what you told me?" Spike asked. Adele looked up at him silently. "You told me it's a burden you choose to carry. You, Shelley, Sophie, you all chose it. If you didn't, you wouldn't still be here. And no one can make that decision for you, nor can they take it away from you. Not without a fight anyway. And you know what?"

"What?"

"It's the same for me, right now," Spike said, sitting down on the bed as she got in it, and pulling the covers up to her shoulders. Then he sat back, to let her finish tucking herself in with dignity. "I choose to be here for you, right now, always. On our wedding day, I promised you me, and I'm gonna keep that promise. I'm not going anywhere. And I'm not gonna let you go anywhere, okay?"

"Thank you, Spike," Adele murmured, pulling the covers up to her chin as the painkiller took effect. "That's very comforting."

Spike smiled. "Holler for me if you need anything, okay?"

"Copy that."

Satisfied, Spike nodded and got up from the bed. He went over to the door, pulled it almost closed, then went out to the living room and sank down onto the couch in exhaustion.

* * *

"Spike... Spike!"

The panicked call jolted the bomb tech out of sleep and had him running across the hall before he was even fully awake. He flicked on the light switch to find Adele curled up in a fetal position on the bed, her elbows on her knees, crushing her palms to her temples, her jaw locked in an attempt to swallow the groan of pain that threatened to escape.

"Adele?" Spike was amazed that his voice did not belay his terror.

"Spike..." she gasped. "I think I need to go to the hospital..."

* * *

"Spike, what happened?"

Jules hurried toward Spike, who was sitting in the waiting room, leaning forward on his knees, wringing his hands worriedly.

"Adele called for me and I found her curled up on her bed in a ball, her hands on her hand, in some serious pain," Spike explained. "I called 911, figured it'd be faster than me driving her."

"She let you call for help?" Jules asked in surprise.

"Let me? Jeez, Jules, she _asked _me!"

"You might as well grab coffee and breakfast with me at the Coffee Corner, Spike. It looks like it's gonna be another long night..."

* * *

Having eaten breakfast, Jules and Spike were just returning with coffee in hand, when the nurse wheeled Adele back into her private room. Adele lay unmoving on the gurney. Three nurses lifted Adele onto the bed, then tucked the sheet around her and plumped her pillows, before leaving her alone to sleep.

"Doctor Craven told me to tell you that the scans went very well, and that Adele should be waking up from the sedative very soon," said the first nurse quietly, smiling. "Doctor Craven will be with you shortly."

Spike and Jules nodded and sat back to wait.

The two partners sat in comfortable silence as they watched Adele fight through the fog and heaviness of the sedative and return to consciousness. Her eyelids fluttered, then she opened them, looking around for a sign that she wasn't alone.

"How are you feeling, Adele?" Spike asked.

"Tired. Where's the doc?" Adele asked.

"On his way. Are you in pain?" Spike asked.

"Some," said Adele. "'S not bad, though... Anyone else here?"

"The Sarge, Ed, and Sam are in the waiting room," said Spike. "Nurses would only let your, er... 'primary caretakers' in at the moment." He smiled wryly. "They'll be let in after we've heard the verdict and you've had some rest."

"Okay," said Adele softly. Her head dropped as she began to give in to the pull of the sedative, to sleep off the rest of it.

"Hey, don't go to sleep yet, Adele, I'm here," said Doctor Craven, announcing his arrival. "I have good news."

Adele's head snapped up. She clutched her head and winced in pain, regretting the motion. "Ow... What's going on?"

"The new scans show us that the swelling has finally abated," said Doctor Craven. "The reduction of the swelling has relieved pressure on the nerves and nerve bundles, causing your acute pain. The headaches are a result of the trauma the edema and swelling has caused the nerves, and unfortunately, as you've experienced, they can be extremely sudden and extremely painful. For now, I've prescribed a much stronger painkiller for you to take as soon as you feel a headache starting, Adele. If you feel they don't provide enough relief, I want you back here, stat."

"Can I go home?" Adele asked.

"I'd rather you stayed until the sedative was completely out of your system," said Doctor Craven. "However, if you can give me your word that you'll go straight to bed when you get home..."

Adele was out of bed and pulling her jeans over shaking legs, before the doctor finished his sentence.

"Do you have someone to stay with you, Adele?" asked Doctor Craven.

"I will," Jules and Spike said in unison. Adele smiled.

Adele was out like a light as soon as her head hit the pillow, upon returning home.

* * *

A few hours later, Spike looked up, hearing the shuffling of feet.

"Thought you were sleeping?" he asked Adele, appraising her quickly and seeing no sign of pain or illness.

"I was," said Adele, "but I can't stop thinking."

"About what?"

"Everything," said Adele. "The explosion, the memories... how long it's been since I saw Lewis and Kanya..."

"Get some sleep. If you feel up to it tomorrow, we can go see them tomorrow."

"Really? Thank you, Spike." Adele smiled, walked over to kiss him, then turned around and fell back into bed. She listened to her husband's soft footfalls fade into the room next to her, then her breathing evened out and she fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Adele woke relatively early, around eight. Spike was sitting in the kitchen, reading the newspaper.

"Morning," Adele murmured, making a beeline for her teapot.

"Morning," Spike responded, smiling.

As she waited for the water to boil, Adele turned to face Spike and saw his dreamy expression. "What?" she asked softly.

"I, uh, well..." Spike stammered. "I'm just... so glad you're back."

Adele nodded. "Me too," she said quietly, not quite meeting Spike's gaze.

Noticing Adele's distant body language, as the teapot whistled, Spike asked, "What's wrong?"

"I just feel so... guilty," said Adele. "How could something like that actually happen?"

"Adele, you have a traumatic brain injury," said Spike. "It wasn't your fault."

"I should have been stronger, Spike," said Adele, tears shining in her eyes. "No one in their right mind just forgets about their family."

"Adele, you didn't _just _forget," said Spike, standing up and going over to her. "And you weren't really in your right mind. But I'm not criticizing you."

Adele nodded vaguely.

"You're still recovering," said Spike, stroking her arm. "It's only been five days since the incident. Give it some more time. Your memories are back; it will just take time to readjust. And you're still dealing with the physical recovery as well. Don't be so hard on yourself."

Adele nodded again.

"Are you ready to go visit Lewis and Kanya today?" Spike asked.

"Yes," said Adele, nodding. "I want things to return to normal as soon as possible. I want to see them. I'm sure they've missed me."

"I know the feeling," Spike said, kissing her forehead. "Let's eat some breakfast, then we'll head over and surprise them."

Adele smiled. "Okay."

* * *

Spike smiled to himself, watching Adele laughing as she played with the twins on the floor. Kanya was laughing from underneath a laundry basket Adele had placed over her, both laughing every time she got out and Adele placed it back over her again. Lewis was transferring stickers from a book to pieces of paper with the assistance of Adele's mother and stepfather, Stella and Jack. They peeled the stickers from the book, then gave them to Lewis to place on the paper.

Later that evening, they read to the twins, before tucking them in for the night. Once the twins were asleep in their cribs, they went into the living room and sat down on the couch. Stella and Jack joined them.

"What's up?" Jack asked casually.

Adele looked at Spike, unsure of where to begin.

"We wanted to talk to you about the possibility of bringing the twins home," Spike began.

Stella and Jack nodded.

"Really?" Stella asked. "Already?"

"Seems really soon," said Stella.

Lost for words, Adele looked quizzically at Spike.

"We were thinking about starting with having them back on weekends, to start," said Spike. "Start slow and work our way up."

"Mom, Jack," Adele said, "you guys and I both know that stability is one of the best things for a child. I think getting the twins back home with us as soon as possible is what's best for them."

"Adele, we don't want you to be overwhelmed," said Stella. "You're still dealing with a lot."

"Mom, it's not just about me," said Adele. "I may still be dealing with shit from the explosion, but my children need me. Look, things are gonna be weird for a while, but—"

"Things are weird already," said Spike. "They deserve to come home."

Jack nodded. "It's a good thought," he said. "I say, let's give it a try. We can always slow things down if the need be. Baby steps."

Adele's face lit up and she broke into a grin. "Really?" She and Spike hugged happily, laughing. "Thank you."

Smiling, they leaned back against the couch and cuddled close.

* * *

_Thanks to all who have read, reviewed, favorited, alerted so far. I really appreciate it. I'll post chapter 9 as soon as possible. Please review! Thanks._


	9. Sadie

**Chapter 9: Sadie**

* * *

_One month later._

July 16 was Adele's first day to return back to work. It had been five weeks since the explosion. While she still had no memory of the explosion, her brain injury was healing well. Her broken wrist, arm, and ribs had all healed normally. She still got occasional headaches, but they were not as bad as they once were, and were usually remedied with ibuprofen.

Spike, who had the day off, greeted her with his usual goofy, sideways grin when she awoke that morning.

"Hey, good morning," he said, kissing her tenderly. "First day back. You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," said Adele.

They got up and dressed the twins for the day.

"Are you feeling okay?" Spike asked, appraising her quickly as they walked down the stairs to the kitchen, the twins in their arms.

"Yeah, I'm okay," said Adele. "Just nervous."

They sat the twins in their high chairs, put bibs over their shirts, and began dishing out baby food onto little plates for them.

"Want me to drop you off?" Spike asked.

"Spike." Adele gave him an imploring look. "Are we gonna do this again?"

"I just want to make sure you're comfortable, that's all," said Spike, raising his hands.

Adele smiled, went over to him, and stepped close. She took his hands in hers and looked up at him.

"Are you offering to escort me personally, Officer Scarlatti?" she whispered seductively, grazing her lips against his cheek, coming to rest by his earlobe.

"Why, yes, Mrs. Scarlatti, I am," Spike said coyly, grinning at her touch. "Permission to escort, ma'am?"

"Granted," Adele whispered, kissing him chastely before returning back to feeding Kanya.

After breakfast, they set the twins on the couch to watch Blue's Clues, so they could go upstairs and get ready themselves. Spike pulled a blue T-shirt over his head and pulled sweatpants on over his boxers. Then Spike finger-combed mousse through his hair, and stood back to watch Adele getting dressed.

Spike couldn't take his eyes off her, as she put on a clean bra. He never got tired of her slender form, all its dips and curves, no matter how many times he had seen her naked. He smiled to himself as she caught him looking, blushed, and looked away. She was always so modest, as if he didn't already have her entire body memorized.

Adele pulled on a grey T-shirt and put on her cargo pants. She tied her combat boots, then slid a gun belt through the loops, before finally holstering her gun.

She turned to face him. "Well... how do I look, Officer?" she asked quietly, gazing steadily at him.

"Amazing, as usual," Spike said, looking hungrily at her. "Chicks who pack heat are infinitely sexier. You don't know how much I want to get you out of that right now."

"Oh, I think I do," Adele whispered, stepping close to him, glancing down at his waist, and grinning.

Spike bit his lip in an attempt to control his emotions, which threatened to break free of him at any moment. His beautiful, sweet, sexy wife was back, and he wanted so badly to take her, all of her, right there and then, and love her like she deserved.

But he had to be patient. The time would come. When she was ready, she would let him know.

After dropping the twins off at daycare, Spike let his mind wander as he drove Adele to work. They entered the newly-repaired parking garage attached to City Hall and parked nearby to the door. Spike took his hand off the gearshift and covered Adele's hand with his own.

"Whenever you're ready," he said quietly.

He regarded her steadily, watched as she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened her eyes again. She looked at him, then nodded, and they got out of the car. Spike walked to stand beside her, as she looked around the garage.

"Nothing," she said.

"What is it?" Spike asked.

"I still don't remember."

Spike shook his head. "You probably won't, ever; probably not such a bad thing."

"No, I guess you're right," Adele said, nodding, as they entered the stairwell.

They were on the seventh step when it happened: Adele let out a loud gasp of horror, and started to hyperventilate. In a second, she had melted down into a full-blown panic attack.

"Whoa! Hey! Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Spike said bracingly, stepping toward her. Adele looked at him and started to scream. "You're okay, you're okay!"

She looked around frantically, as if trying to escape. "You're okay! You're safe." She was still breathing very heavily. "It's okay, you're here with me. Breathe, darlin', slow it down."

Spike gazed steadily at her, as she continued to look around, as if she was expecting to be attacked. Slowly, her breathing slowed. "It's okay," Spike repeated, as she pushed her hair out of her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Adele whispered, still panting with ebbing panic. She blinked quickly, as if coming out of a daze. "We should... we should go..."

She met his gaze briefly, then looked anywhere but at him. She closed her eyes, then Spike pulled her into his arms. He held her close for a long minute, then they broke apart.

"Do you want to go?" Spike asked quietly.

Adele nodded. "Let's go."

"It's gonna be okay," Spike murmured. "I promise."

* * *

_Five months later._

Jules let out a huff of frustration, as she sat back at her desk and stared at the paperwork in front of her. It was December 7. She was now two weeks away from her due date and she was exhausted. She had been placed on desk work on June 9, a day after the team had divided up to tackle multiple bombs placed across the city by Marcus Faber. That day had changed the entire future for Team One.

Jules was bored out of her skull. Every fiber in her being wanted to be out in the field, taking down bad guys, saving lives, connecting, respecting, protecting. But that wasn't an option.

It was 1:07p.m. With no hot calls so far that day, it had been deemed a patrol day for the team until further notice. Adele had joined Jules for lunch at a nearby deli for sandwiches and chips, before both women had returned to work.

Adele had returned to her position as animal control warden for the city, despite her Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She was attending biweekly psychotherapy and was on more medication to help combat her PTSD, depression, and anxiety. While sometimes she wanted to hole up at home and not leave her room, her therapist encouraged her to do the exact opposite as much as she could. When she wasn't busy helping raise Lewis and Kanya or working, she frequented the local animal shelter, walking the dogs and spending time with the cats that resided there. She also participated in daily yoga and wrote a daily journal.

At SRU, Jules left her desk to get herself a glass of water. As she sat back down, she chewed on a Tums tablet, trying to settle her stomach pain. She spent the next hour taking phone calls from civilians who were reporting non-emergency situations and dispatching uniformed officers to attend to customer complaints.

Her pain, meanwhile, had not been alleviated by the Tums. It came and went about every ten minutes.

"Jules, you okay?" Winnie asked.

"Yeah," Jules said, taking a deep breath and looking over at her. "Bad shrimp."

Winnie, looking unconvinced, nodded. "Okay."

As Jules finished typing up an incident report half an hour later, she was overcome by another pain. This one was much stronger. She bit back a scream and managed to breathe through it. She now knew that she was really in labor.

But Team One was on a hot call, an armed home invasion. They were already an officer short, with her on desk duty; she didn't think Sam could come get her.

"Jules, are you sure you're okay?" Winnie asked again.

This time, Jules shook her head, gritting her teeth and struggling to breathe through the pain. "Winnie, call Sam. I've gone into labor."

* * *

After radioing Sam over the comm, Winnie had called Adele to pick up Jules, rather than have an ambulance take her, per Jules' request. They had arrived at the hospital and Jules was being admitted to Labor and Delivery.

The home invasion incident had not ended well. The invader had taken the elderly homeowners hostage, threatening to put a bullet in their heads, if their demands weren't met. In the end, the gun had gone up and before the subject could shoot either hostage or team member, Sam had taken the Sierra shot. The homeowners were shaken, but unharmed.

As ecstatic as they were about the news of Jules going into labor, the team had no choice but to return to SRU. Sam had to sit down with SIU and review the incident. At first, he refused to enter the briefing room. But after the commander promised he would be in and out in twenty minutes, as it had been a textbook hot call, he conceded.

The moment things finished, Sam ran from the building, jumped into a truck, flipped on the lights and sirens, and raced away. He pulled out his cell phone, hooked up his Bluetooth, and called Natalie, his parents, and Jules's dad, and told them what was going on and to meet him there.

He ran red lights and stop signs and got to the hospital fast. Sam ran into the hospital and quickly looked around for a sign saying Labor and Delivery. Spotting it, he ran over to the elevator and slammed his fist on the up button. Breathing hard, he quickly lost his patience and took the stairs, up three flights to the fourth floor.

Jules's dad and brothers and Sam's mom were all sitting in the waiting room. They all got up from their chairs as Sam rushed into the room. Hugs went around, and then a nurse came out and shook his hand.

"This way," she said, and Sam followed her quickly to a delivery room. "She's right in here."

The nurse opened the door and Sam rushed over to Jules's side. It was noisy in the room, with monitors beeping, the obstetrician and nurses giving Jules instructions, and Adele speaking soothingly to her by her side. She was already fully dilated and pushing.

"Sam, just in time," said Adele, grinning from where she held Jules' right hand.

Sam smiled and went over to Jules's left side and took her hand, just as she pushed again.

"I'm here, Jules. I'm here, babe," he murmured into her ear.

"Take a deep breath, get this baby out!" the obstetrician commanded from at her feet. Tears streaming down her face, Jules inhaled and cried out as she bore down. "Push, push hard! Four, five, six... Push hard!"

Three pushes later, and the baby slipped into the world, crying heartily. Sam stroked Jules' face lovingly, as the obstetrician called out, "It's a girl!"

After cutting the cord, Sam kissed Jules tenderly as they watched the baby girl get weighed, measured, and wrapped in a blanket and a little cap placed on her head. Adele grinned and stepped out of the room, wiping her eyes, waiting for Sam, so they could go out and announce the news to the family and team.

* * *

_As always, please review to let me know what you thought. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, alerted, and read so far. Not sure how much further this will go, but I never really know. :)_


End file.
